- Defence Therapeutics (DTC) has announced the development of a dual-acting Accum-linked protein vaccine, AccuVAC-PTE7
- AccuVAC-PTE7 was created to offer protection from cervical cancer (prophylactic vaccine) or to treat (therapeutic vaccine) patients with pre-established cervical tumours
- Pre-clinical studies conducted on this new vaccine, AccuVAC-PTE7, show that it provides 100-per-cent protection from cervical cancer if delivered before tumour growth
- It also shows potent anti-tumoral effects against established tumours when combined with various immune-checkpoint blockers
- Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded Canadian biopharmaceuticals company primarily focused on the development of novel immune-oncology vaccines
- Defence Therapeutics Inc was down 1.67 per cent, trading at $2.95 at 1:50 pm ET
Defence Therapeutics (DTC) has announced the development of a dual-acting Accum-linked protein vaccine, AccuVAC-PTE7.
AccuVAC-PTE7 was created to offer protection from cervical cancer (prophylactic vaccine) or to treat (therapeutic vaccine) patients with pre-established cervical tumours.
Protection from cervical cancer can currently only be achieved with Gardasil-9 or Cervarix, two vaccines directed against the L1 proteins of HPV.
However, there is currently no cure for patients with established cervical cancer and the clinical trials previously conducted with other companies with both the E6 and E7 proteins were highly disappointing.
Since the Accum molecule was previously shown to significantly enhance the immunogenicity of various proteins, the Defence team engineered a novel protein-based vaccine targeting the oncogenic protein E7 normally used by HPV to transform healthy cells into an outgrowing tumour.
Pre-clinical studies conducted on this new vaccine, AccuVAC-PTE7, not only provide a 100 per cent protection from cervical cancer if delivered prophylactically (e.g. before tumour growth), but also show potent anti-tumoral effects against established tumours when combined with various immune-checkpoint blockers such as anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA4 or anti-CD47.
“The idea of having a dual-acting vaccine targeting cervical cancer capable of both protecting and treating patients from cervical cancer is a giant step in the field of cancer vaccines,” noted Sébastien Plouffe the CEO of Defence Therapeutics.
“In addition, this vaccine contains a single protein, the E7, which makes it easier to manufacture and use compared to a mix of 9 proteins as provided by the Gardasil-9 product,” he added.
Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded Canadian biopharmaceuticals company primarily focused on the development of novel immune-oncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies.
Defence Therapeutics Inc was down 1.67 per cent, trading at $2.95 at 1:50 pm ET.
